PALMER, Iowa — In Pocahontas County, approximately a dozen buildings took severe damage from an EF-2 tornado Tuesday night.
It's not the first time the area has faced a disaster, and community members leaped into action to come help.
Churches are often community hubs wherever you might find them, and that's especially true in small towns. In Palmer, a tornado destroyed homes and farmland just a few miles away from Faith Community Church, and members immediately began looking for ways to help out.
"As soon as the storm went through, just reaching out to people, driving up and down the road, checking on families, things like that," said Russell Weller, the church's pastor.
"There was friends, family, and neighbors out there before we were, and we were right there," Pocahontas County Sheriff Steve Nelson said. "They were coming out of the woodwork, they were loading people up and getting them to a safe place."
Nelson told Local 5 the tornado was not as damaging as the one that hit the community back in 2011. Even so, residents are still a bit shaken up.
"I talked to one lady I'm good friends with. I don't think she even recognized me. She was dazed, frustrated and scared, all in one package," Nelson said.
But those feelings have not kept the volunteers away.
Whether it's picking up debris or serving meals for the community, Pocahontas County residents are happy to help.
"I just know this community is such a great community of support. I know they've rallied together in the past, and we're already seeing that in the first half day, and we're very thankful for that," Weller said
If you would like to help with tornado recovery efforts, monetary donations can be made to Availa Bank in Pocahontas, which has set up a disaster relief fund for the area.
On Wednesday, Gov. Kim Reynolds issued a disaster proclamation for Cerro Gordo, Hancock, Humboldt, Mitchell, Pocahontas, Winneshiek and Worth counties.